A meteor caught on camera buzzed the Midwest last night

Last night at around 1:30am CST as Super Bowl revelers made their way home, many were treated with an amazing, and kind of terrifyingly beautiful site. A meteor streaked through the upper atmosphere of the US Midwest, burning green as it made its way toward the surface.

The meteor was caught on camera by several observers, both official and amateur. It is believed that the meteor may have landed in Lake Michigan (which would technically make it a meteorite), but that can’t be confirmed.

As it tore through the sky, it appeared vividly green as a result of the meteor’s composition as the heat and the friction burned it away. The speed of a meteor as it hits the atmosphere can affect the way it burns, and therefore the color we see, and this one was going very fast – fast enough that it caused multiple sonic booms as it passed over parts of Wisconsin and Illinois.

Meteor strikes like this are rare, but they aren’t unheard of. Russia frequently captures meteors on camera, and Bangkok residents recently watched in terror and awe as one passed overhead in the middle of the afternoon to name just a few.

It might seem like these strikes are increasing, but that’s not the case. The frequency hasn’t changed, the availability of cameras to record them has. That’s good news for us, as they are fairly spectacular.

The meteor was seen from multiple angles in multiple locations as it broke up. Check out a few below.

Lisle, IL

Check out this INCREDIBLE video of the #meteor this morning as viewed from a Lisle, IL police car dash cam! Thanks to Lisle PD for sharing! pic.twitter.com/uYELKkBxRO

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